Dalhousie, professors union resume talks as lockout enters second week of fall term

A conciliation meeting is scheduled for Monday in Halifax to help end a labour dispute between Dalhousie University and its faculty association.

HALIFAX — Talks resumed on Monday between Dalhousie University and its faculty association, more than two weeks after the school locked out about 1,000 professors, librarians and other teaching staff.

The lockout has extended into the second week of the fall semester, leading to numerous class cancellations at Atlantic Canada’s largest university. Some courses taught by teaching assistants or part-time instructors, who are not part of the faculty union, have been going ahead.

Monday’s meeting involved a conciliator named by the provincial government, but by the afternoon it was unclear what progress, if any, had been made. Neither the Dalhousie Faculty Association nor the university released an update.

Earlier in the day, Dalhousie spokesperson Janet Bryson said the university’s board “welcomes the opportunity to continue to work towards resolving” the labour dispute.

Picketing near Dalhousie’s engineering campus in downtown Halifax, Chiranjeev Sanyal, an assistant professor at the pharmacy school, said Monday that morale remains “very high” on picket lines. With talks resuming, members are feeling hopeful, Sanyal said.

“We’re waiting to hear back from the meeting which is unfolding today, various demands are on the table. They may cherry-pick a few and skip the rest, so we will have to see,” Sanyal said.

While on picket lines, many faculty have been hearing words of support from their students who are dealing with disruptions to regular classes due to the lockout, the assistant professor said.

“Students are in solidarity with us, they are understanding our cause and they are supporting our cause,” he said.

The faculty’s current contract expired June 30, and Dalhousie has offered two per cent wage increases in each year of a three-year deal. Dalhousie’s faculty association has proposed increases of 3.75 per cent in the first year, 4.75 per cent in the second, and 5.75 per cent in the third.

As of July, the maximum salary for a lecturer was $123,000 and for a professor it was $217,000.

By Lyndsay Armstrong

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2025.